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| Posted: Aug Aug 19, 2007 10:11 am Post subject: Towns mull share-way to heaven |
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Towns mull share-way to heaven
Their goal: to provide more cost-effective services
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/19/07
BY TRISTAN J.
SCHWEIGER
STAFF WRITER
On a Monday evening last month, Point Pleasant Beach hosted a forum on consolidating police and sharing services.
The forum, which included Borough Police Chief Daniel DePolo and Belmar Police Chief Jack Hill among other officials, wasn't spurred by any planned changes. But Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Thomas Vogel said consolidating police and other services with neighboring towns is an issue that has been discussed more and more of late.
"There's still a lot more that needs to be worked out," Vogel said last week. "Certainly, things that look good on paper require some further thought and analysis."
The idea of towns banding together to provide more cost-effective services is nothing new. Indeed, New Jersey municipalities have been pooling resources for decades in areas such as education funding and insurance programs.
But with property taxes rising throughout the state, and with state officials encouraging towns to look for cost savings through sharing services, the idea of consolidation has been cropping up more frequently. Last year, for instance, Hill and Belmar Mayor Kenneth E. Pringle proposed the creation of a regional police department in southeastern Monmouth County by merging the departments of eight towns.
Controversial idea
So far, the idea has been highly controversial when it has appeared. Proponents of consolidating police departments argue the strategy is a good way to reduce bureaucracy and administrative costs.
Meanwhile, opponents say regionalizing police could change the type of service residents of small towns expect, and further, that cost savings would be minimal, if they would be seen at all. State Sen. Leonard T. Connors Jr., R-Ocean, said he asked residents of Surf City, the Long Beach Island town of which he is mayor, about a decade ago for their opinions on an island-wide police department in place of the current five.
"I sent every taxpayer a letter with a tear-out, a vote or opinion, and I presented the case before them," Connors said. "The people overwhelmingly — I think it was 18 to 1 — said "no,' they'd rather pay a little more and have their own police department."
However, some island residents said times are changing, and the tax situation is such that consolidation needs to be on the table for discussion. Bill Hutson, a 56-year-old motel owner who lives in Long Beach Township's Holgate section, said he'd like to see the six island towns eventually become one municipality.
"We should consolidate all the police departments, all the public works," Hutson said. "It should be just one town. Just combine everything. New York City has one mayor, one council, and they do a great job for millions of people. There's no reason why Long Beach Island can't have the same thing."
Bill Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said he has worked on the issue of consolidation and shared services for more than three decades. He said he has long advocated for towns to consider the idea of merging police departments as a way of increasing efficiency.
Dressel said that although consolidation has been applied to many other areas, consolidating police and emergency services has never received serious attention in the state, which he blamed on resistance from police organizations.
"By and large, in the emergency services area, particularly the police area, it has not really taken off. It has not been successful. And quite frankly, I think it was because it was not being accepted by the police establishment," Dressel said.
Police report
In March, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police released a report on consolidations, mergers and shared services. The report didn't advocate for consolidation, instead offering guidelines for municipal officials to consider when discussing whether to consolidate.
However, Dressel said he saw it as a sign that police leadership in the state was becoming more receptive to the idea.
"It was the first positive statement that I have ever heard from the police community that they were even willing to discuss it," Dressel said.
The financial impact of combining departments varies for each municipality, say local officials. Roman M. Martyniuk, public information officer for the chiefs' association, said the major reason behind publishing the report was to encourage towns to consider all factors when making a decision whether to consolidate.
And he said that although the idea is usually raised as a way of saving money, it has yet to be shown that consolidating departments will actually do that.
"No one has proven yet that shared services actually result in any cost savings," Martyniuk said. "You still have the same number of police. You still have administrative and office expenses."
He said the debate over consolidation is occurring at the same time homeland security is a top concern around the nation.
Cautious approach
In Lake Como, one of the towns that would be part of the proposed southern Monmouth County department, Police Chief Rosman Cash said he wasn't against the idea of consolidation, but thought any move in that direction should be taken with caution.
For one thing, he said, many residents in a small town such as Lake Como like the personal relationships they have with officers that would likely not be possible in a larger department. But he said he was also skeptical of the financial benefits, particularly with regard to negotiating officers' salaries.
"One town, the top patrolman might be making $20,000 higher than in another town. That officer is not going to go $20,000 lower," Cash said.
On Long Beach Island, Bill Knarre, president of the island's Joint Council of Taxpayers, said he doubted police and government consolidation would occur in the near future, though he said it would be a "great idea." Instead, Knarre, 65 of Long Beach Township's Brant Beach section, said small steps were much more feasible.
For instance, Knarre suggested creating an island-wide lifeguard service and merging water and sewer departments.
ON THE WEB: Visit our Web site, www.app.com and click on this story to read the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police report on consolidation and shared services.
This is the first in a two-part series looking at the idea of consolidation and sharing of services in municipalities and school districts.
Tristan J. Schweiger: (732) 557-5734 or tschweiger@app.com
Coming Monday: A look at districts that have boards of education, but no schools, because pupils are sent elsewhere on a tuition basis — and a law that could do away with those districts. |
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